Iraq

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Iraq's joint military forces managed to purge ISIL terrorists from a strategic road East of Mosul, killing a senior ISIL commander in fierce clashes.

Iraqi Federal Police Kill Notorious ISIL Commander, Purges Terrorists From Key Road Near Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951013001206

"Ahmad Manati, ISIL's notorious commander, was killed in heavy battle with the Iraqi Federal Police over the control of the key Koukajli road in al-Entesar district to the East of Mosul city," Commander of Iraqi Federal Police Raed Shaker Judat said.

Several ISIL terrorists were killed and wounded in fierce clashes with the Iraqi Federal Police forces.

In a relevant development earlier on Monday, the Iraqi army forces bombed the ISIL strongholds in Northern Mosul in a bid to cut off the Tel Kef supply line.

The Iraqi troops hit three ISIL checkpoints along the Tel Kef road in Northern Mosul city, using heavy artillery. The shelling led to the destruction of the ISIL security checkpoints and the death of several ISIL militants, ARA News quoted an unnamed military source as saying.

The Tel Kef road is considered one of the main supply lines for the ISIL militants to support their operations against the Iraqi forces in Northern Mosul.

The most notorious bomb-maker of ISIL terrorists was killed along with his two aides in a bomb-manufacturing workshop blast in al-Tanak region West of Mosul city in Northwestern Iraq.

Iraq: ISIL's Bomb Mastermind Killed in Workshop Blast Near Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951013001252

Al-Abrash, who was a top expert in making powerful bombs with at least fifty kilograms of explosives known as al-Dabah, was killed in an incidental blast of one of ISIL workshops West of Mosul. Two other experts and aides of al-Abrash were also killed in the explosion.

Reports said earlier today that Iraqi Army forces bombed ISIL strongholds in Northern Mosul in a bid to cut off the Tel Kef supply line.

The Iraqi troops hit three ISIL checkpoints along the Tel Kef road in Northern Mosul city, using heavy artillery. The shelling led to the destruction of the ISIL security checkpoints and the death of several ISIL militants, ARA News reported.

 

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Iraqi forensic specialists reportedly found the remains of some 80 victims of the June 2014 massacre by ISIL terrorists at an air force camp in the country’s Northern province of Salaheddin.

Iraq Discovers 80 Bodies at Camp Speicher Carnage Site
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951015000879

Fazel al-Qarawi, a human rights specialist said that experts from the Iraqi Establishment of Martyrs and Health Ministry found 80 bodies inside former dictator Saddam Hussein’s palace compound in Tikrit, located 140 kilometers Northwest of the capital Baghdad, Al Forat News reported.

The remains of the victims’ bodies, which were found submerged in Tigris River under tree branches, were brought out by a group of divers and transferred to the provincial department of forensic sciences for DNA testing.

On June 12, 2014, ISIL terrorists killed around 1,700 Iraqi air force cadets after kidnapping them from Camp Speicher, a former US base. There were reportedly around 4,000 unarmed cadets in the camp when it came under attack by ISIL militants.

Following the abductions, the attackers took the victims to the complex of presidential palaces and killed them. The terrorists also threw some of the bodies into the river. The massacre was filmed by ISIL and broadcast on social media.

An investigation committee later revealed that 57 members of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party aided ISIL terrorists in the massacre.

On August 21, 2016, Iraqi judiciary officials hung 36 men convicted of involvement in the carnage.

Tikrit was recaptured from ISIL in March 2015. During clean-up operations in the Northern part of the city, Iraqi forces found the location of the 2014 carnage.

Iraqi armed forces are now engaged in a large-scale military operation in Mosul to rid the terror group of its last remaining stronghold in the Arab country.

Meanwhile, the commander of Nineveh Liberation Operation says tens of ISIL militants have been killed in a string of airstrikes inside and on the outskirts of Mosul, located some 400 kilometers North of Baghdad.

Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah said on Tuesday that the military aircraft bombarded purported ISIL positions in the Eastern and Western quarters of Mosul, besides the city of Tal Afar, situated 63 kilometers west of Mosul, killing 80 militants.

Saudi Arabian media is reporting that 49 foreign construction workers protesting unpaid wages have been sentenced to prison and corporal punishment in the form of lashes.

Saudi Arabia Jails and Flogs Workers for Unpaid Wage Protest
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701051049275217-saudi-arabia-jails-flogs-protesters/

Some of the unnamed workers were reportedly sentenced in a Mecca court to four months imprisonment and 300 lashes each, on charges of destroying public property and inciting unrest. Others received prison sentences of 45 days.

The nationalities of the workers have not been made public by Riyadh.

The workers had primarily been employed by Saudi Oger, a construction company, and the Binladin Group, which was founded by the father of the deceased al-Qaeda leader. After the kingdom’s oil revenues collapsed, the contracted workers went unpaid. During a May 2015 demonstration, seven Binladin Group buses were set on fire. Authorities would not confirm at the time that the workers were the suspects behind the arson. Last year, the Binladin Group claimed that they had settled their debts with the workers, while Oger workers were reported to have received only partial payment as of December 2016, the Middle East Eye reports.

On December 22, 2016, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Aljadaan announced that the money owed to private sector contractors would be paid within 60 days.

The Yemeni army and popular forces targeted and destroyed a Saudi-led military boat in the waters near Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Yemeni Army Destroys Saudi-Led Military Speedboat
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951015000583

The Saudi speedboat was destroyed in the port of al-Mukha in Ta'iz province with several missiles.

On November 27, the Yemeni army had also destroyed a number of Saudi speedboats in the coastal waters of Bab al-Mandab Strait in Zobab region.

Also on November 26, the Yemeni forces destroyed five Saudi military speedboats with Katyusha rockets in Mosalas al-Amri coasts in Zobab region.

In early October, the Yemeni navy and coast guard forces warned Saudi Arabia that they would target any vessel or warship of the Saudi-led Arab coalition that enters the country's territorial waters.

"In case of witnessing any uncoordinated movements near Yemen's territorial waters or trespass of our sea border, the vessels of Saudi Arabia and its allies will be destroyed," the Yemeni navy said in a statement.

The Yemeni navy's statement came after the Yemeni army and popular forces targeted and destroyed an Emirati warship in the waters near Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The UAE warship was targeted with Yemeni missiles in the Al-Mukha coastal waters in the province of Ta'iz. Some reports said the warship did not belong to the UAE army and had been rented from the US for the Yemen war.

Some 22 UAE navies were killed in the attack.

The sunken ship had repeatedly fired rockets at residential areas in Ta'iz province, inflicting casualties and destruction there.

Other Saudi-led battleships that were approaching Yemen's coasts retreated fast following the attack.

The mercenaries hired by the Riyadh government attempted to take control of a strategic military base in the city of Najran South of the kingdom, but failed due to the Yemeni forces' firm resistance.

Saudi-Backed Militias Fail to Take Control of Key Military Base in Najran Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951014001493

The Saudi-hired mercenaries tried to capture the al-Shabakeh military base, but were defeated after hours of clashes with the Yemeni army and popular forces.

The Yemeni forces destroyed two military vehicles of the Saudi mercenaries in the clashes.

The Saudi-backed militias received aerial support from the Saudi Air Force during the battle.

 

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The US-led military coalition in Iraq has doubled the number of its military personnel in Iraq as parts of the country’s second largest city, Mosul, still remain under the control of Daesh Takfiri terrorists,

US-led military coalition increases number of advisers in Iraq: Official
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/01/04/504858/US-doubles-number-of-advisers-in-Iraq

There are now roughly 450 military advisers, said US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian in Baghdad, while speaking to reporters at the Pentagon.

On October 17, Iraqi army soldiers, supported by Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched a joint operation to retake Mosul from Daesh terrorists.

The Iraqi forces’ advance has, however, been slowed down due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of whom are prevented from leaving Mosul by Daesh.

The so-called coalition has expanded the forces "in the last couple of weeks," according to Dorrian, who refused to disclose their exact locations in the Muslim country.

According to the Associated Press, “The advisers perform a range of roles, from accompanying Iraqi troops as they move around the battlefield to providing engineering and intelligence support. They are not meant to be involved in direct combat, although they have come under fire at times.”

"They remain behind the forward line of troops," Dorrian said, adding that the Daesh (ISIL) militants had established good defenses around Mosul with more than 200,000 buildings, each a potential death trap.

"You end up having to clear each one," he said. "And that goes from rooftop level, often in four-story or higher buildings, through every single room, and every single closet, and into tunnels that have been dug between these buildings, and sometimes beneath them. And it's just slow-going."

He also stated that the US is negotiating with Turkey over its plan to attack the Syrian city of al-Bab allegedly to target Daesh in an alleged effort to tackle Daesh there.

"The Turks are aware of some of the things that might be in store," Dorrian said, adding that US warplanes provided a "show of force" as they flew over the city at Turkey’s request without dropping any bombs.

US warplanes have been conducting airstrikes allegedly against Daesh in Iraq since August 2014. Some Western states have also participated in some of the strikes.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorists were among militants initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government.

ISIL ringleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has chosen three successors for himself, among them an Iraqi national, to lead the terrorist group after him, local sources in Nineveh said.

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi Appoints 3 Successors
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951016000662

Soumeriya News quoted local sources as saying that while speaking about al-Baghdadi's successor was forbidden in areas controlled by the ISIL in Nineveh province, the terrorist groups' commanders and members have been recently heard speaking about the issue, saying that he has assigned three people as his successors.

The sources who called for anonymity disclosed that "speaking about al-Baghdadi's successor could be an effort to prepare the ground for a post-Baghdadi era; specially, given the fact that al-Baghdadi has disappeared for several weeks, weakening the ISIL leaders and members' morale".

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had claimed early last month that the ISIL is engaged in efforts to find a successor for the terrorist group's ringleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

According to the dissident-backed London-based center, information obtained from reliable sources showed that the ISIL leaders in Iraq have called on other commanders of the terrorist group in Raqqa of Syria and the commander of Jeish al-Sham to convene in a secret place in Iraq.

According to the unnamed sources, the ISIL is seeking to hold a meeting to choose a successor for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi "to run a Caliphate for Muslims".

The news was released as contradictory reports have appeared in recent months on the fate of ISIL leader Al-Baghdadi.

Spokesman of Hashd al-Shaabi (the Iraqi volunteer forces) Ahmad al-Assadi said in mid November that the latest information and intel shows that ISIL Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still in Iraq, hiding somewhere outside Mosul.

The terrorist, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is in a region between the town of Tal Afar (some 54km North-West of Mosul) and the town of al-Baaj (157km to the South-West of Mosul)," al-Assadi was quoted as saying by Iraq's al-Ma'louma news agency.

He also said that the operations of the volunteer forces cover an area 14,000 sq/km around Mosul that includes the towns of al-Hazar, al-Baaj and its surrounding regions towards Tal Afar.

Based on an agreement made earlier, the Iraqi popular forces and Peshmarga Kurdish troops will not be part of the invading forces inside the two cities of Tal Afar and Mosul, while they will help tighten and maintain the siege on the rims of the two cities. Various units of Iraq's armed forces, including the army, police and anti-terrorism troops, lead the assault.

Al-Assadi's statement is the last in a string of reports on the fate of the notorious ISIL leader. During the last several months, many contradictory reports have surfaced the media about the health conditions and location of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

 

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Warning: This article contains a video with graphic footage.

18+ Video: ISIS release first execution video for 2017
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/18-video-isis-release-first-execution-video-2017/

ISIS has released a new video from Mosul titled “The Procession of Light”. The video shows two prisoners being executed, one by beheading and other by drowning.

The near 42-minute long video shows multiple VBIED suicide attacks against Iraqi forces in Mosul, with the attackers being interviewed before their attacks showing their delight in participating in this mission.

The last 6 minutes of the video shows the execution of the two Iraqi men who are accused of being spies.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met on Thursday Faleh al-Fayad, the National Security Advisor and Envoy of Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi.

Syria, Iraq to strengthen military cooperation
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syria-iraq-strengthen-military-cooperation/

Al-Fayad conveyed to President al-Assad a message from al-Abadi, in which he affirmed the importance of cooperation and coordination between Syria and Iraq in their war against the terrorist organizations and the need to enhance this cooperation in the coming period.

During the meeting, stress was placed on the achievements made in the two countries in terms of the war against terrorism, with the most recent ones being the expelling of terrorists from Aleppo in Syria and the advance of Iraqi forces in Mosul.

Both sides affirmed that these achievements represent a victory for the two brotherly people of Syria and Iraq as they share the same enemy, which is terrorism and its destructive Takfiri ideology.

President al-Assad and al-Fayad also highlighted the importance of concerted efforts of all countries in the fight against terrorism as the outcome of this war will not only influence the shaping of the future of the region, but will also have its impacts on the whole world, especially that terrorism knows no boundaries, a fact that was proved through the terrorist attacks that have hit many of the countries in the region and beyond.

The Iraqi Army, alongside the Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd Al-Sha'abi), is rolling through Al-Anbar's western countryside, liberating large chunks of territory along the southern bank of the Euphrates River en route to the Syrian border-crossing.

ISIS under serious threat near Syrian border as Iraqi forces quickly advance in Al-Anbar
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-serious-threat-near-syrian-border-iraqi-forces-quickly-advance-al-anbar/

According to recent reports from Al-Anbar, the Iraqi Army has liberated more than 40 km of territory along the main road between Haditha and Al-Qa'im after a quick two day battle with the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).

With only two major towns between their positions and Al-Qa'im, the Iraqi Army could reach the Syrian border-crossing in a few weeks, putting the Islamic State militants in Mosul at high alert as their main link between Syria and Iraq comes under threat.

In the coming days, the Iraqi Army's offensive should intensify as the Islamic State sends reinforcements from Deir Ezzor to Al-Anbar in order to forestall the attack.

An Iraqi military commander said the Iraqi forces have retaken around 70 percent of Eastern Mosul from ISIL militants and expect to reach the river bisecting the city in the coming days.

Iraqi General: 70 Percent of East Mosul Retaken from ISIL
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951016000916

Lieutenant General Talib Shaghati, who is also head of the elite counter-terrorism service (CTS) spearheading the campaign to retake the northern city, said the cooperation of residents was helping them advance against the ISIL, Iraqi News reported.

In its 12th week, the offensive has gained momentum as the Iraqi forces and their allied forces renewed their push for the city a week ago, clearing several more Eastern districts despite fierce resistance.

“Roughly 65-70 percent of the eastern side has been liberated,” Shaghati said in an interview in the Kurdish capital of Erbil. “I think in the coming few days we will see the full liberation of the Eastern side”.

The Western half of the city remains under the full control of ISIL, which is fighting to hold on to its largest urban stronghold with snipers and suicide car bombs numbering “in the hundreds”, according to Shaghati.

Although vastly outnumbered, the militants have used the urban terrain to their advantage, concealing car bombs in narrow alleys, posting snipers on tall buildings with civilians on lower floors and making tunnels and surface-level passageways between buildings. They have also embedded themselves among the local population.

The presence of large numbers of civilians on the battlefield has restricted Iraqi forces’ use of artillery but the cooperation of residents has also helped them target the militants.

“They give us information about the location of the terrorists, their movements and weapons that has helped us pursue them and arrest some and kill others,” Shaghati said.

In the run-up to the Mosul offensive, Iraqi officials expressed hope that residents would rise up against ISIL, accelerating the group’s demise in the city.

The Iraqi army and tribal forces started a new round of military operation in the Western part of the country, and managed to seize back five more strategic villages in the Southern part of al-Sarsar lake.

Army, Tribal Forces Start Fresh Military Operation in Western Iraq, Recapture 5 Key Villages
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The Iraqi forces are now in full control of al-Akhzar, al-Jams, Tal Asfar, Wadi Abid and al-Tayl villages South of al-Sarsar lake.

Al-Sarsar lake is located between the strategic cities of al-Ramadi and al-Haditha.

Iraq's joint military forces continued their advances in the Eastern part of the city of Mosul and managed to seize back a strategic district.

In a relevant development earlier on Friday, the Iraqi forces took full control of al-Mosana district in Eastern Mosul after killing and injuring several terrorists in tough battle.

Meantime, the Iraqi government troops liberated some parts of al-Salam Hospital also in Eastern Mosul.

 

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi disclosed that his administration has reached an agreement with Turkey over Baghdad's demand for the withdrawal of Turkish military forces from a camp in Northern Iraq.

Iraqi PM: Turkey Agrees to Withdraw Troops from Northern Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951018001451

Al-Abadi made the announcement on Saturday after his meeting with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Baghdad.

The Iraqi state TV, which aired Abadi’s announcement, did not provide further details about the agreement over Turkey’s military presence in the Iraqi town of Bashiqa. Turkey deployed about 500 troops to the facility last year, saying it was wary of potential attacks by the ISIL terrorists that had the city of Mosul, near Bashiqa, under their control.

Iraq has repeatedly called on Turkey to withdraw its forces or risk a potential confrontation with the Iraqi army, which is currently battling the ISIL in Mosul. Baghdad has also refused Ankara’s call for a contribution to the Mosul liberation operation.

Yildirim arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for a two-day visit, the first since relations between the two neighboring countries began to strain over the Bashiqa dispute.

Turkish Ambassador to Baghdad Faruk Kaymakci expressed hope earlier that the visit could "open a new chapter in Turkey-Iraq relations".

Sources in Ankara had also speculated that Yildirim's discussions in Baghdad would include the Bashiqa dispute, the fight against the ISIL, and the issue of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey’s controversial deployment to Northern Iraq comes as Ankara continues with its military operations in the neighboring Syria. The Turkish operation, which began in August, has faced similar criticism from the Syrian government. Turkey says it will continue the push which it says is meant to uproot ISIL and the Kurdish militants.

Media sources said Iraqi popular forces have blocked the US soldiers' path to Mak'hul mountain in Northern Salahuddin and expelled them from the region.

Iraqi Popular Forces Expel US Soldiers from Key Mountain in Salahuddin Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951018001201

The Arabic language al-Ma'aloumeh news website reported that al-Nujaba Movement fighters have prevented the US army men from climbing Mak'hul mountain that is under the full control of the volunteer forces of Hashd al-Sha'abi and Iraqi security forces.

The website quoted Spokesman of al-Nujaba Movement Hashem al-Mousavi as saying that the US soldiers wanted to climb Mak'hul mountain but al-Nujaba forces prevented them and expelled them from the region.

"The region that has been liberated has never been a part of the US scope of mission and its presence in there is in pursuit of plots. They must know that Resistance and Hashd al-Sha'abi are red lines for them," the spokesman added.

In late October, Deputy Chief of the Nineveh Provincial Council Noureddin Qablan announced that the US-led coalition warplanes launched airstrikes on an army base in Nineveh province, killing several soldiers.

"The US fighter jets hit one of the military bases of Iraqi Army's 16th Division in a region North of Mosul, and the attack left four Iraqi soldiers dead," Qablan said.

He said that the US army confirmed the attack, calling it a "mistake".

Qablan said that it was not the first time the US warplanes hit the Iraqi army and volunteer forces (Hashd al-Sha'abi) military positions, adding, "The US-led coalition has each time said that air raids were not deliberate."

Millions of Yemenis could soon face widespread famine if no action is taken to improve food access through humanitarian or trade means, an early warning system said.

Threat of Famine, Widespread Malnutrition Looms in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951019000507

Up to eight million Yemenis are severely food insecure while another 2 million are facing food insecurity at emergency levels, just one phase below famine, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) found, IPS reported.

The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that the food-insecure population in the Middle Eastern nation could be even higher at up to 14.4 million, representing half of the population.

This has contributed to rising acute malnutrition and risk of mortality. According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), almost 4.5 millions are in need of treatment for malnutrition, including over 2 million children.

The ongoing conflict between a Saudi-led coalition and the Yemeni people has largely driven the food crisis in Yemen, which FEWS Net describes as the “largest food security emergency in the world.”

The two-year war has left thousands dead and 3 million displaced, limiting humanitarian access and food availability on the market.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded system highlighted the need to improve humanitarian access in order to continue and increase much needed food and nutrition assistance.

Though current food assistance from organizations such as the World Food Program (WFP) is helping mitigate the crisis, FEWS NET noted that such operations alone have been insufficient to meet the country’s needs.

Action is also needed to ensure sustained commercial food trade. Prior to the conflict, Yemen imported approximately 90 percent of its food. The unrest has since disrupted the government and private sector’s ability to import food. Most recently, wheat imports were suspended in December, a staple grain for Yemenis.

Without such imports, humanitarian actors will also be unable to ensure local food availability.

Though food is still available on local markets, increased prices and reduced income have limited access to goods. WFP found that prices of red bean, sugar and onion were respectively 48 percent, 24 percent and 17 percent higher in November than in the pre-crisis period.

A major reduction in food import levels will only serve to worsen food security in the country.

“In a worst-case scenario, where food imports drop substantially for a sustained period of time or where conflict persistently prevents the flow of food to local markets, famine is possible,” FEWS NET reported.

In 2016, the UN requested almost $1.7 billion towards Yemen’s Humanitarian Response Plan. Approximately 40 percent remains unfunded.

A prominent dissident leader lambasted the international community's silence on the Bahraini government's siege of 20,000 people in the town of al-Diraz which hosts the house of senior cleric Sheikh Issa Qassim.

Opposition Figure Blasts Human Rights Advocates for Keeping Mum about Long Siege of 20,000 Bahrainis in Diraz
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951018001275

"The Muslim town of al-Diraz in Bahrain has been under the al-Khalifa regime's siege for months and those who claim to support human rights have kept mum," Hussein Abdollah told FNA on Saturday.

"Nearly 20,000 defenseless citizens in al-Diraz which is the hometown of the Shiite Bahraini leader have been under the al-Khalifa army's siege for 205 days," he added.

Abdollah underlined that the residents of al-Diraz are ordinary Bahraini citizens who have been besieged for defending Sheikh Qassim.

On June 20, Bahraini authorities stripped Sheikh Qassim of his citizenship, less than a week after suspending the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the country’s main opposition bloc, and dissolving the Islamic Enlightenment Institution founded by Qassim, and the opposition al-Risala Islamic Association.


Over the past few weeks, demonstrators have held sit-in protests outside Sheikh Qassim’s home to denounce his citizenship removal.

Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis, calling on the al-Khalifah rulers to relinquish power.

In March that year, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, themselves repressive Arab regimes, were deployed to the country to assist Manama in its crackdown on protests.

Bahrain has also sentenced Sheikh Ali Salman, another revered opposition cleric, to nine years in prison on charges of seeking regime change and collaborating with foreign powers, which he has denied.

Sheikh Salman was the secretary general of the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, which was Bahrain’s main opposition bloc before being dissolved by the regime last month.

 

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A total of 213 families have left western parts of the Iraqi province of Anbar bordering Syria since the start of the operation to liberate it from Daesh, Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement said Tuesday.

Operation in Iraqi Province Bordering Syria Displaces Over 200 Families
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701101049445299-iraq-displaced-families/

The families left the towns of Anah, Rawa and Qa'im, which are still being controlled by Daesh militants, the Iraqi News website reported, citing a ministry official. They were relocated to refugee camps in Anbar and supplied with the humanitarian aid, the news outlet added.

Two explosions hit a hotel in Afghan city of Kandahar on Tuesday during a meeting between the governor of Kandahar province, a local police chief, and a high-ranking UAE diplomat, TOLO News television reported.

Two Bomb Blasts Hit Afghan City of Kandahar, Governor Injured
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201701101049445430-kandahar-governor-blasts/

The governor was injured in the attack. Earlier in the day, a suicide bomb and car bomb attacks occurred near the government buildings in the Afghan capital of Kabul near the parliament offices killing at least 38 people.

Taliban has taken responsibility for the Kabul attack.

A suicide bomber has blown himself up in the Afghan capital of Kabul, quickly followed by a car bomb nearby in what appears to be have been a coordinated operation.

Up to 50 People Feared Dead in Twin Blasts in Kabul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951021000582

Initial eyewitness estimates put the casualty estimates in the incidents on Tuesday as high as 50, independent reported. At least 21 people had died and 45 more wounded were taken to hospital, public health ministry spokesperson Imail Kawasi said.

The attacks occurred in an busy area home to government and legal offices, and were immediately claimed by the Taliban, who apparently targeted a minibus carrying Afghan intelligence agency staff.

A Taliban spokeperson said the insurgents had killed or wounded upwards of 70 people. The attack comes after a period of relative calm in Afghanistan's capital.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lashkar Gar in Southern Helmand province was also hit by a suicide bomber in an attack that killed seven people. The assailant had targeted a local intelligence officer, and both military personnel and civilians were among the dead, the local police chief said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Helmand is the centre of the fight against the Taliban insurgency.

A leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Murat Karayilan, has promised to withdraw his troops from the Sinjar area in northern Iraq, saying that he will be continuing negotiations with the region's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Sputnik spoke with prefect of Sinjar, Mehma Khelil in an interview.

PKK Forces Exiting Iraqi City of Sinjar Vow 'to Ensure Stability in Region'
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701101049434054-pkk-exit-sinjar-ensuring-stability/

Earlier, the leader of the PKK outlined the importance of national unity and stressed that it was in the Kurdish people's best interest to build that unity without wasting the "blood of the martyrs".

The PKK leader added that the Kurdistan Workers Party and the KDP have been conducting ongoing negotiations on the subject of the former's presence in Sinjar and that PKK was ready to leave the area at the conclusion of the talks.

Prefect of Sinjar, Mehma Khelil told Sputnik that representatives of the PKK on the eve of a meeting held with the leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan have decided to leave Sinjar in the near future.

“The exact date is still unknown. The fighters of PKK will leave not only the central quarters of the city but also the nearby villages. All members of the PKK who are present there right now will withdraw from Sinjar,” Khelil said. He further said that this is an important positive step and it means addressing the issue through dialogue, since the exit of the PKK fighters from the territory of Sinjar will help “to ensure stability in the region and establish a process in which the return of civilian population in the city and its surrounding areas will become possible.”

An official report shows that Britain exported 500 cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s which may have been used in the current war against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Britain Admits Selling 500 Cluster Bombs to Saudi Arabia, Some Used in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951021000598

It is the first time the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed how many of the British-made devices have been exported to Saudi Arabia, RT reported.

In a letter to the Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, seen by the Press Association, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “The UK delivered 500 BL755 cluster munitions under a government-to-government agreement signed in 1986. The final delivery was made in 1989.”

Fallon said the UK had not been able to carry out any surveillance of the weapons until 2008.

Last month, Fallon said although the UK had not supplied such weapons to Saudi Arabia since 1989, a “limited number” of cluster munitions from the UK were being dropped by Saudi-led forces in Yemen.

The defense secretary said he had asked the Saudis to destroy their remaining stock of UK-supplied cluster munitions, to which they reportedly agreed.

He told a House of Commons inquiry he did not know how many had been exported, but was satisfied the use of the bombs had not breached international law. The revelations are likely to pile more pressure on the UK to stop selling arms to the Saudis.

The Iraqi Army's Intelligence Department announced that five ISIL commanders, including a top aide of the terror group's Chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, have been killed in an Iraqi air force raid in Mosul.

ISIL Ringleader's Top Aide Killed in Iraqi Airstrike in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951021000415

The Iraqi army announced in a statement that five ISIL commanders, including Abdul Wahed Khazir Sayer al-Jow'an known as Abu Loi, a senior aide to al-Baghdadi were killed in the airstrike in Eslaah Arazi region.

Manager of the Traffic Department Ahmad Khazir Sayer, Manager of Agricultural Department of the towns of Tal Afar and al-Mahlabiyeh nom de guerre Abdul Karim Khazir Sayer al-Jow'an have also been among the hunted commanders, according to the Iraqi army.

A spokesman said on Monday that the Iraqi special forces made further advances against ISIL in Mosul Monday pushing militants out of another district a day after driving them back to the Eastern bank of the Tigris river.

The elite counter-terrorism forces took full control of the Baladiyat district and encircled neighboring Sukkar, said spokesman for the Iraqi counter-terrorism forces, Sabah al-Numan, the Daily Star reported.

The advance also consolidated Iraqi forces' control of several districts close to the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, East of the river.

 

[ellaya]

The news regarding Musol dam sounds like another potential disaster. With all that fighting going around, and ISIS / US becoming desperate. These guys might try to destroy the dam if things don't go according to their plans .

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mosul-dam-breach-fail-northern-iraq-isis-kill-million-nuclear-catastrophe-engineers-risk-a7510686.html

 

[angelburst29]

The news regarding Musol dam sounds like another potential disaster. With all that fighting going around, and ISIS / US becoming desperate. These guys might try to destroy the dam if things don't go according to their plans .

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mosul-dam-breach-fail-northern-iraq-isis-kill-million-nuclear-catastrophe-engineers-risk-a7510686.html

Thanks for Posting the article, Ellaya. At one point, ISIS did gain access to the Musol Dam and the employees abandoned their positions but the Iraqi Military regained control of the area. Only a hand full of employees came back, so that is another concern because it needs constant supervision to keep operational and check for any defects, that might develop to compromise the dam. So, there is concern for possible potential disaster.

Three top leaders of the ISIL Takfiri group were killed on Friday as the Iraqi forces moved further into ISIL-domain in Western Mosul and controlled another neighborhood in the city.

Three ISIL Top Leaders Killed in Fighting with Iraqi Troops
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951025000562

According to the Iraqi intelligence reports, the chief for the ISIL operation in Mosul, was killed by Iraqi forces, Basnews reported.

Also Abu-Khatib al-Sa'udi, chief for ISIL suicide bombers and Abu Omer Dutch, the Mosul leader for the foreign militants in ISIL ranks were killed on Friday.

The Iraqi forces today could liberate more areas in Western Mosul, as the entire al-Kafa'at al-Ula neighborhood, Mosul Governorate Building, Mosul Technical Institute, and the directories of agricultural, planning, reconstruction and land registry in the city.

The Iraqi flag has replaced the ISIL flag in these locations.

Reportedly, the Iraqi forces recaptured several buildings of Mosul University, including its technical institute and student dormitories while they also advance towards the presidential palaces in the city.

A security source in Iraq’s Kirkuk reported that ISIL terrorists set fire on a mother and her four children under the pretext of leaving the “land of the Caliphate.”

ISIL Burns A Mother, 4 Children in Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951025000599

Media reports confirmed that ISIL militants arrested the family, composed of a mother, three girls and one boy, on Himreen highway, and burnt them in front of other displaced civilians, Al-Manar reported.

ISIL terrorists occupied swathes of territories in Iraq in 2014, yet the Iraqi army and security forces, backed by the mobilization troops and allies, managed in 2015 and 2016 to confront the Takfiri group’s advance and liberated most of the militant-held areas, except Mosul which witnesses fierce battles to regain it.

Media sources disclosed that almost 4,000 US soldiers have been deployed in three military bases in Iraq since last days of December.

4,000 US Soldiers Arrive in Western Iraq Since End of December
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951025000827

The Arabic desk of Sputnik quoted sources in the region as saying that 4,000 American soldiers have entered Iraq since late December and have been deployed at Ein al-Assad base in al-Baghdadi town and al-Taqadom base in al-Habaniyeh near Faloujeh.

The sources told sputnik that more groups of US soldiers will be dispatched to Iraq soon.

Sputnik added that another part of these soldiers have been dispatched to the Spiker base in Salahuddin province.

The sources did not leak more information about the objectives of the US soldiers' deployment.

Media sources disclosed on Wednesday that the US administration rejected presence of its ground troops in Mosul operations, while American soldiers were sighted operating in the city in Iraqi army uniforms and vehicles.

"It is about three weeks that tens of US army forces have been deployed in the Eastern and Northeastern districts of Mosul, but most of them wear the uniforms of Iraq's Counter-terrorism Units," al-Ma'louma News quoted al-Arabi al-Jadid newspaper as reporting on Wednesday.

"One of the US army bases is in al-Zahour district in Eastern Mosul to coordinate coalition flight missions and trace and mark ISIL targets in the region. The Americans use military vehicles similar to the Iraqi forces' vehicles at this base too," an Iraqi military source was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The daily added that the Americans were providing the Iraqi forces with intelligence and military logistic support in al-Zahour district.

The revelation came as Iraq's military forces took back, at least, 80 percent of East Mosul from ISIL, the spokesman of the special forces spearheading the campaign said Wednesday.

""I think you can say that we have retaken 80 to 85 percent of the Eastern side of Mosul, said Sabah al-Noman, spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), the Daily Star reported.

Iraqi forces fully liberated the Mosul University, in a key advance against the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group in the strategic Northern city.

Iraqi Forces Fully Recapture Mosul University from ISIL
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951025001045

The full liberation of the university’s premises occurred on Saturday, a security source, told al-Sumeria on the condition of anonymity.

A day earlier, Iraqi special forces had entered the university’s compound and liberated a number of its buildings.

The university served as a base to the terrorists, who have reportedly been using its laboratory to produce chemical weapons.

A senior Yemeni military official announced that the country's army has called on Egypt and Russia to increase their military cooperation and send advisors to Yemen.

Official: Yemeni Army Asks Egypt, Russia for Military Cooperation
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951025001042

"The Yemeni army's units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh (and allies to Ansarullah) have asked the Egyptian army to send a number of military advisors to cooperate with Yemen and provide it with experience in the war against terrorism," Ramzi Abdollah, also a senior member of Yemen's Socialist Party, told FNA on Saturday.

He added that the Yemeni army commanders have also urged the Russian army to enhance its cooperation with Sana'a and send a number of military advisors to the war-hit country, saying that they have also called on Moscow to deploy its fighter jets in Yemen to be used in the war against terrorism.

The demand was raised a few months after the Egyptian Air Force withdrew from the Saudi-led Coalition of countries attacking Yemen after a 12 month-long operation.

According to local sources in Cairo, this move by the Egyptian government came just hours after the Egyptian Intelligence Chief met with his Syrian counterpart.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 12,800 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has drove the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster.

A military aircraft with the bodies of the United Arab Emirates' diplomats killed in an explosion in the Afghan city of Kandahar arrived in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Aircraft With Bodies of UAE Diplomats Killed in Afghanistan Arrives in Abu Dhabi
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701141049599689-uae-diplomats-killed-afghanistan-plane/

According to the WAM news agency, the aircraft delivered four of five bodies at the Abu Dhabi airport, where a special ceremony attended by high-ranking officials was organized.

The fifth body reportedly has not been identified yet. Earlier this week, a total of three terrorist attacks took place in Afghanistan, including the Kabul twin suicide bombing, which left over 50 people dead, and an explosion at a hotel in the city of Kandahar that left at least 11 people dead, including five UAE diplomats, who were tasked with a humanitarian mission.

 

[angelburst29]

Security sources in Nineveh province disclosed that unidentified assailants gunned down a senior Saudi commander of the ISIL terrorist group who was in charge of executing Iraqi women in the city of Mosul.

ISIL's Women-Executioner Commander Killed by Unknown Gunmen in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951102001493

"The unknown gunmen shot at Abu Abdel Rahman, ISIL's senior commander, in al-Askari region in the center of Mosul city, and he was killed right on the spot," a security source said.

He noted that Abu Abdel Rahman was in charge of executing women in Western Mosul.

In relevant remarks on Friday, an Iraqi general said that most ISIL commanders in Mosul have been killed in battles with Iraqi government forces that raged over the past three months in the Eastern side of the city.

Mason Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq, has said that he does want to see Syria's Kurdish-controlled areas descend into civil war amongst rival Kurdish factions.

Iraqi Kurdistan leader says he does not want Kurdish civil war in Syria
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/iraqi-kurdistan-leader-says-not-want-kurdish-civil-war-syria/

The comments were made during the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Since 2012, the Zerevani forces affiliated to Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) have trained thousands of Syrian Kurdish Peshmergas to fight ISIS. However, due to disagreements between Barzani-backed Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Rojava’s Peshmerga have not been able to return to Syria, according to Ara News.

“We don’t want to see a Kurdish-Kurdish fighting in Rojava, that is why we have not sent back the Rojava Peshmerga,” Barzani said. “We are not optimistic about the future of Kurdistan Rojava in Syria.”

“Peshmerga of Rojava can be the bridge to lessen regional tensions and force multiplier in anti-ISIS campaign,” Masrour Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Region’s Security Council, said last month in Washington when arguing why they should be fighting in Syria.

However, Pentagon officials say that the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) have the most effective fighters in northern Syria, and that trying to assemble, train and equip an alternative force could be difficult and at best would take months, the Ara News report continued.

Most ISIL commanders in Mosul were killed in battles with Iraqi government forces that raged over the past three months in the Eastern side of the city, an Iraqi general said.

Iraqi General: Most ISIL Commanders in Mosul Already Killed
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951101000643

The fight to take the Western side of Mosul, which remains under the jihadists' control, should not be more difficult than the one on the Eastern side, said Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi, NRT reported.

"God willing, there will be a meeting in the next few days attended by all the commanders concerned with liberation operations," he said, replying to a question on when he expects a thrust into the Western side of Mosul to begin.

"It will not be harder than what we have seen. The majority of ISIL commanders have been killed in the Eastern side." He did not give further details.

Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea coast killed at least 29 people in the war-hit country over the past 24 hours, military sources said Friday.

Saudi-Led Airstrikes Kill 29 Yemeni People in Hodeida
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951101000466

The strikes hit two locations in Hodeida province, the sources said. Around 20 other people troops were also wounded, the Daily Star reported.

The Saudi-led coalition has begun intervention in Yemen sine March 2015 in an attempt to reinstate the former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

But despite its massively superior firepower, the popular committees and their allies still control the capital Sana'a and much of the Central and Northern highlands as well as the Red Sea coast.

 

[angelburst29]

The ISIL terrorists killed eight Iraqi citizens in a brutal manner in Kirkuk province, and took the heart of one of them out of his body to intimidate people more.

Iraq: ISIL Terrorists Brutally Take Out, Eat Civilian's Heart Alive in Kirkuk to Spread Reign of Terror
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951104001251

"The ISIL killed seven people by running a bulldozer over them and took the eighth civilian's heart while he was alive on charges of spying for the government forces," a security source in Kirkuk province disclosed on Monday.

The source noted that the ISIL terrorists committed the heinous crime inside al-Bokareh airbase near Hawija around 55 kilometers Southwest of Kirkuk province.

"Another ISIL terrorist took the heart of an Iraqi civilian for allegations about his cooperation with the Iraqi security forces," he added.

The ISIL has committed similar crimes against the Iraqi civilians many times before in Kirkuk province.

In mid-December, the ISIL executed 17 people, mostly youths, in al-Hawija region over accusations of cooperating with security forces and mutiny against the terrorist group.

The ISIL group took 17 people out of their residences in the early hours of December 12 before executing them by a fire squad inside al-Bokareh airbase.

Meantime, a security source disclosed that a large number of civilians, including women and children, have escaped from the ISIL and approached Peshmerga forces.

The people had fled the ISIL-controlled al-Makhous, al-Madina and al-Akouleh regions to reach Maktab Khaled that is under the rule of the Peshmerga forces.

An ISIL court in Iraqi city of Mosul issued an order to kill women and children fleeing the Northern city, local sources said.

ISIL Issues Order to Kill Women, Children Fleeing Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951104001082

“The so-called Sharia court of ISIL terrorist organization has issued an order that authorizes the killing of women and children fleeing the ISIL-controlled neighborhoods in Mosul,” the sources inside the city said, Badr News reported.

It is said that ISIL terror group is continuously targeting the citizens who leave their homes in Mosul.

Mosul's local residents have increased their efforts to make their ways into the areas under the control of the Iraqi security forces as the ISIL terror group has resorted to terrifyingly harsher tactics against the civilians and intensified heavy bombardment on their homes by mortar attacks.

Iraqi joint government forces stormed on Monday the last district hosting ISIL militants in the Eastern section of Mosul, with the total recapture of that region expected for announcement within hours.

Iraqi Forces Storm Last ISIL-Controlled Neighborhood in Eastern Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951104000830

An Iraqi army captain said that forces from the 9th and the 16th divisions stormed al-Rashidiya district in the North of the city under the aerial cover of their allied fighter jets, Iraqi News reported.

The source expected the government to declare the full recapture of Eastern Mosul within hours, which would be the most remarkable victory over the terror group since a campaign was launched to retake the city in mid-October.

After retaking Eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals hope to move immediately beyond the Tigris River towards ISIL strongholds in the West, where military observers predict a tougher battle due to the higher density of the population.

)- Saudi warplanes carried out over 100 airstrikes on al-Mocha region in Southwestern Yemen, killing dozens of people and injuring more during less than 24 hours, local sources said.

Saudi Warplanes Conduct over 100 Airstrikes on Yemen's Southwest in 24 Hours
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951103001504

The sources told Yemen's Saba news agency that over 50 civilians lost their lives in the attacks and dozens more were wounded.

Meanwhile, Saudi fighter jets conducted at least four airstrikes on Yemen's Republican Guards School, North of the capital city, while they bombarded a medical school in al-Hook region in the Southwestern province of al-Hodeida.

On Friday, Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea coast killed at least 29 people and the Saudi fighter jets hit two locations in al-Hodeida province.

At least eight civilians, including two women lost their lives as Saudi fighter jets bombed the Yemeni provinces of Sa’ada and Hodeida.

Saudi Airstrikes Claim Eight Lives in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951104001241

Two Saudi air raids hit two cars in the district of Maran in Sa’ada on Monday, killing seven people, including a woman, Al Masirah reported.

Initial reports had put the death toll at three people.

Also on Monday, Saudi warplanes pounded a residential building in the area of al-Sayaliyah in eastern Hodaida, leaving a woman dead.

Local media reported that the Saudi jets bombed the Hodeida international airport and a salt manufacturing plant among other sites in the province.

A security source in Iraq said ISIL ringleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is not in Iraq and has fled to Raqqa in Syria.

Security Source: Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in Raqqa
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951104000416

The source who called for anonymity dismissed earlier reports claiming that al-Baghdadi is in al-Ba'ajaj town in Western Mosul, and said, "al-Baghdadi is in Raqqa city which has been chosen by the ISIL as its self-proclaimed capital in Syria."

He added that Nineveh province has been besieged from all sides by the Iraqi army and its allies and all border corridors between Syria and Turkey have been closed and al-Baghdadi has not moved to Iraq from Syria since it is impossible.

His remarks came after local sources claimed on Sunday that the convoy of al-Baghdadi and other ISIL ringleaders has been targeted by the air force on its way from Syria to Iraq and the ISIL ringleader has been wounded.

Also, an Iraqi commander said last week that al-Baghdadi, is believed to be trapped in the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul after his numerous attempts to escape the city, now-besieged by the Iraqi forces failed.

The news was released as contradictory reports have appeared in recent months on the fate of ISIL leader Al-Baghdadi.

 

[angelburst29]

A group of Iraqi security forces pounded and destroyed several ISIL military training camps in the Western part of Anbar province as their comrades engaged in fierce clashes with the terrorists in Nineveh province.

Several ISIL Military Training Camps Destroyed in Western Anbar Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951105001518

The Iraqi forces' operations aimed to prevent any chance of relief for ISIL as government troops entered the terrorist-controlled areas in Sanjak and Jarijab regions in the Western part of Anbar province and near the Syrian border.

The Iraqi fighter jets also pounded and destroyed ISIL's military positions in Anbar province, killing around 50, including several notorious terrorists and injuring around 40 others.

The Iraqi army also destroyed a large number of military equipment and armored vehicles of the terrorists.

Iraq's joint military forces have purged terrorists from 70 percent of Anbar province, including al-Tharthar Lake and the regions bordering Syria, including al-Qaem border passage.

Daesh took to social media recently to show off a new drone, bragging that the terror group has an air force.

Daesh Terrorists Use Attack Drones in Iraq
https://sputniknews.com/military/201701261050013883-daesh-terrorists-use-attack-drones/

While Daesh’s drones lack the firepower of a Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, attaching IEDs to an unmanned aerial device indicates a level of lethality beyond surveillance. One scheme involves dropping IEDs on groups of civilians, waiting for first-responders and emergency crews to arrive on the scene, and then sending in a suicide car bomber to wreak even more destruction, according to Bridget Johnson, terrorism fellow at the Haym Salomon Center.

Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, US commander of the 101st Airborne Division, pointed to the drones as "commercial, off-the-shelf-kinds of things," noting that Daesh unmanned aerial vehicles are "clearly" not of the same capacity nor capability as drones used by the US-led coalition.

In October 2016, the US Air Force downed a Daesh-controlled drone that killed four civilians. Air Force secretary Deborah Lee James noted at the time that "a top priority for me" is the "emerging danger" posed by unmanned aerial systems in the Middle East. "These cheap, buy-them-over-the-internet, small drones and if explosives are placed on them…they can do damage," James said.

One counter-drone technique employed by the US-led coalition against Daesh rests in the US Navy’s laser weapon systems, which have been touted for presenting “an extremely low cost-per-engagement” with enemy targets.

Daesh can obtain drones, according to Russian UAV expert Denis Fedutinov, by acquiring the devices commercially, such as a Chinese-made X-UAV. The jihadists have also been known to seize small UAVs transferred from the US to Iraq at the time Washington was providing Baghdad with military and technical assistance. Terrorists have acquired many pieces of military hardware in this fashion, he said, and drones are no different.

Lastly, he proposed that "Daesh could be carrying out its own research into UAVs. We are speaking only about reconnaissance and fire adjustment," Fedutinov said, adding, "I think that these projects resemble amateur aeromodelling communities."

Iraq’s prime minister declared Eastern Mosul “fully liberated” from ISIL after a day of fierce fighting and more than three months after a massive operation to retake the city began.

Iraq’s PM: Eastern Mosul ‘Fully Liberated’ from ISIL
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951106000355

Iraqi forces drove ISIL militants from one of their last bastions in the Eastern half of the city, while aid groups expressed concern for the estimated 750,000 people still in the militant-held West, the Star reported.

In his weekly news conference, Haider al-Abadi hailed the “unmatched heroism of all security forces factions” and public support for the operation.

“ISIL has quickly collapsed and no one expected such collapse,” al-Abadi said. “The heroism of our security forces was behind ISIL’s defeat.”

Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and ISIL’s last urban stronghold in the country, fell into the hands of the extremists in the summer of 2014, when the group captured large swaths of Northern and Western Iraq.

The US-led coalition against Daesh would not specifically comment on the role of Chechen fighters in the battle for eastern Mosul, Iraq, Operation Inherent Resolve Land Component Commanding General Joseph Martin said in a briefing on Wednesday.

US Coalition Declines to Comment on Daesh Chechen Fighters’ Role in Mosul Battle
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701251050008827-us-coalition-daesh-chechens/

The Mosul operation aimed to liberate the city from the Daesh forces started in October 2016. The operation is jointly conducted by the Iraqi military, Iraqi Kurds and the United States-led coalition. The eastern part of the city has been recaptured from terrorists.

"There are foreign fighters that have fought in eastern Mosul. But I can’t specifically comment on the Chechens," Martin stated when asked about the role Chechen fighters played in the Mosul battle and whether their presence was significant.

The Yemeni Ansarullah movement slammed the UN’s Yemen envoy for failing to speak the truth about the situation on the ground in the conflict-torn country, saying the diplomat is in fact siding with the invaders by keeping silent on Saudi crimes.

Ansarullah: UN Envoy Failing to Tell Truth on Yemen Conflict
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951106000702

UN Special Envoy for Yemen “Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed cannot utter a word of truth,” said Ansarullah spokesman, Mohammad Abdulsalam, Al Masirah reported.

Abdulsalam, whose movement has been defending Yemen against a deadly Saudi war, further said the United Nations “only seeks to cover up the invaders’ crimes and the issue of Yemen’s blockade.” The UN envoy “is unfortunately in cahoots with the invaders,” he added.

The Ansarullah official further pointed to a recent visit by the UN envoy to the capital, Sana’a, saying the enemy carried out numerous attacks against Yemen during Cheikh Ahmed’s stay, but he showed no reaction.

The United Nations has suffered a vehement defeat in its peacemaking efforts aimed at ending the crisis in Yemen, he added.

The Saudi war on Yemen, which local sources say has killed at least 12,800 people, was launched in an unsuccessful attempt to bring back the former government to power.

Several ceasefires brokered by the United Nations have failed to hold amid incessant Saudi attacks. The UN-backed peace talks have also repeatedly broken down.

On January 23, Cheikh Ahmed concluded a mission to Yemen, calling for a comprehensive political settlement of the conflict gripping the Arabian Peninsula state.

The UN diplomat said he had met with Ansarullah and the General People's Congress leaders, and the two sides had agreed on talks in Jordan on the formation of a ceasefire committee before the UN-sponsored peace talks later this year.

The Yemeni army's air defense systems downed an Apache helicopter belonging to the Saudi-led troops in the coastal city of al-Mukha in the Western part of Ta'iz province in Southwestern Yemen.

Ta'iz: Saudi-Led Apache Helicopter Downed by Yemeni Forces in Al-Mukha
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951106000807

The US-made helicopter was downed in al-Mukha region contrary to Saudi regime's allegations that they have taken full control over al-Mukha's port area in the past two days. The chopper was brought down as it was attacking the positions held by the Yemeni army and popular forces.

The Yemeni army and popular forces also fired a ballistic missile at the concentration centers of the Saudi-backed militias loyal to former fugitive Yemeni President Mansour Hadi in Bab al-Mandab region.

The Iraqi defense ministry announced on Wednesday that the ISIL terrorist group has lost over 50 percent of its militants in the city of Mosul in Nineveh province in the last 100 days.

ISIL Loses 3,400 Terrorists, over Half of Militants, in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951106001480

"The intelligence obtained by us indicates that there have been over 6,000 ISIL terrorists in Mosul and around 3,400 of them have been killed in battles with Iraq's joint military forces in the major city of Nineveh province," Iraqi Defense Ministry Spokesman Colonel Laith al-Naimi said.

He noted that over 250 bomb-laden vehicles and the entire bomb-making workshops of the terrorists have been destroyed in Mosul which means that the ISIL has been paralyzed by the Iraqi forces.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iraqi rapid response forces targeted ISIL positions on the Western bank of the Tigris River in Mosul, after officials announced the complete recapture of the Eastern side.

Mopping-up operations were still under way in Rashidiya, the last district liberated from the militants on the East bank of the Tigris to flush out remaining militants in a pocket in the Northeastern district, NRT reported.

Hundreds of people from Rashidiya left the district with their belongings to escape fighting.

The Royal Saudi Air Force fleet is getting new US-developed F-15SA Strike Eagle multirole fighters, local media report.

Saudi Arabia Showcases Newly Received US F-15SA Fighters - Reports
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701261050016702-saudi-arabia-showcases-new-fighter-jets/

The F-15SA aircraft were displayed during a Wednesday air show that marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh, The Saudi Gazette said.

Saudi Arabia ordered 84 F-15SAs as part of a $60-billion deal with the United States approved seven years ago.

According to The Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia also ordered almost 70 kits to upgrade its existing F-15S fleet.

The Taliban has demanded that President Donald Trump withdraw remaining US forces from Afghanistan, saying responsibility for ending the 15-year conflict "rests on his shoulders" - however, Omar Samad, the former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada, has told Sputnik there's little chance of a reversal of US policy in the country.

Past US Taliban Policy 'Wishy-Washy,' Trump’s Generals Better Equipped - Expert
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701251049994503-trump-taliban-afghanistan-conflict/

While then-President Barack Obama suggested the war was over in December 2014, when NATO officially ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, around 8,400 US troops remained stationed in the war-torn country. The election of Donald Trump as president raised hopes US involvement would end outright although others are more circumspect — the same optimism attended Barack Obama's election in 2008.

Omar Samad, the former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada, told Sputnik that while there are "few hints" as yet as to what Trump's administration will do in Afghanistan, "all indications" are there will be some level of continued commitment to the Afghan 'mission.'

"I don't see why the US would disengage quickly. It would be a terrible strategic move, contrary to US interests, spelling trouble for the Afghan government, emboldening the Taliban and other terror groups in and around Afghanistan to take more drastic measures, producing regional instability," Mr. Samad told Sputnik.

On the campaign trail, Trump was repeatedly and vehemently critical of past US policy in the Middle East, particularly the strategy of training and arming local militias to indirectly achieve military, political and economic goals in the region.

However, Mr. Samad believes Trump could reverse his stance, as "aligning with people on the ground" with the same "objectives" can be an effective means of fighting terrorism. The Islamic world is potentially the US' best ally in the fight against localized terrorism, as they are its primary victims. Mr. Samad added.

Moreover, he says Afghanistan welcomes the appointment of General Michael Flynn as US national security adviser, and James Mattis as US Defense Secretary.

"Afghans are hopeful the experience these generals have in region will help shape policy in a realistic, effective manner. Past policy was wishy-washy — it didn't identify risk factors, or change them. Flynn and Mattis are familiar with the Taliban — we know where their sanctuaries can be bound, where their support lies, and who their allies are. This perspective will allow the generals to take a strategic view and adopt the policies necessary for dealing with the group," Mr. Samad continued.

However, Mr. Samad concluded that Pakistan — "historically the main thorn in the side of Afghanistan" — complicated the prospect for a cessation of hostilities.

"There are distinct factions of the Taliban, one which is amenable to peace, another allied to terrorist groups and state sponsors of terrorism. Policy must make note of this distinction, and be reshaped accordingly, or the same mistakes will keep being made."

 

[angelburst29]

An Iraqi military commander confirmed that pro-government forces discovered a quantity of chemical warfare agents from the ISIL group in Mosul.

Iraqi Forces Uncover ISIL Mustard Gas Stockpiles, Rockets
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951109001405

The commander, Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil of the Iraqi special forces said tests this week by French experts confirmed the agent was sulfur mustard, New Arab reported.

Better known as mustard gas, the chemical was widely used during the First World War and leads to the blistering of exposed skin and, if inhaled, the lungs.

Iraqi troops showed journalists a tank of the chemical agent and a warehouse of more than a dozen surface-to-surface rockets in Eastern Mosul, with Fadhil saying that Baghdad believes that ISIL is attempting to fit rockets with chemical agents which could then be used against the Iraqi army or civilians.


Iraqi officials and their allies have repeatedly warned of ISIL efforts to develop chemical weapons.

The commander of ISIL's women battalion in Nineveh fled Mosul for al-Ba'aj province after stealing millions of dollars from the terrorist group.

ISIL's Female Battalion Commander Flees Mosul with Huge Amount of Cash
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951109001585

Local sources in Nineveh province reported that the commander has escaped along with four of her aides, adding that three of her aides are Arab and another one is from Tajikistan.

"The commander of the female battalion is tasked with using female members in operations and administering all issues and affairs related to female suicide bombers," they added.

Raising the possibility that the terrorists may return to their countries, the sources said that the ISIL security forces are now on alert after the terrorist group's members fled Mosul.

In another incident today, an informed source in Southern Hasaka disclosed that the ISIL has executed three non-Syrian members of the terrorist group's Women Battalion on charges of spying.

The source in the town of Merkadeh said that three European women that were members of ISIL's women battalion have been killed by the terrorist group on charges of spying for the international coalition forces.

The source added that members of the Women Battalion are considered as ISIL's security body.

Also, a local source from Merkadeh town in the Southern parts of Hasaka said last week that 15 foreign members of the ISIL terrorist group fled the region.

The source said after the incident, the ISIL started detention of a number of its senior members.

The Yemeni army targeted and pounded a strategic Saudi military base in the kingdom's Southern province of Najran with three missiles.

Najran: Saudi Arabia's Key Military Base Comes Under Yemeni Missile Attack
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951109000900

Three home-made missiles hit Saudi Arabia's Balialin military base in Najran, killing and injuring several Saudi troops as well as destroying their military hardware and ammunition inside the military base.

"Balialin military base also sustained heavy losses in the Yemeni attack," informed military sources disclosed on Saturday.

In a relevant development earlier on Saturday, the Yemeni army and popular forces foiled an attempt by the Saudi army troops to penetrate into several regions in Ta'iz province.

The Saudi troops were trying to pave their way into al-Jadid, Al-Kadaheh and al-al-Khazra regions in Ta'iz, but they were pushed back from their positions before they could take any meaningful action.

More than 5,000 people who fled the Eastern half of Mosul due to recent fighting have returned to their homes in the last two days, an Iraqi relief worker said.

Over 5,000 Iraqis Return to Newly Liberated Areas in Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951109001266

"Some 5,200 people have departed the Al-Khazir and Hassan Sham camps, East of Mosul, and returned to the city’s liberated Eastern neighborhoods," Iraqi Red Crescent (IRC) official Iyad Rafid said, Anadolu reported.

The return of internally displaced people to Eastern Mosul, he said, comes in advance of a fresh round of army operations aimed at wresting Western Mosul from the ISIL terrorist group.

Relief workers, meanwhile, have stepped up humanitarian efforts inside liberated Eastern Mosul.

"IRC teams have distributed more than 800 food packages among residents of Mosul’s Eastern Al-Mithaq district," Zaki Yakoub, director of the IRC’s branch in Nineveh province.

 

[angelburst29]

Seal Team 6 Kills large Number Of Women And Children, Riddled With Bullets, Including At Least One Eight-year-old Girl Named Nora
http://novorossia.today/seal-team-6-kills-large-number-women-children-riddled-bullets-including-least-one-eight-year-old-girl-named-nora/

Monday January 30, 2017 - Pentagon officials confirmed that Navy SEAL Team 6 attacked what they described as an “al-Qaeda headquarters” in Yemen’s central Bayda Province, bragging of killing “about 14” al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters and taking a cache of information. They reported a single soldier killed.

Absent from the Pentagon’s account of what happened over the course of the raid, which supposedly lasted less than an hour, and left a large number of women and children riddled with bullets, including at least one eight-year-old girl named Nora the daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US cleric who was assassinated by the Obama Administration. The Cairo AP office reported receiving photographs showing the bodies of several young children who were shot multiple times during the raid. Roughly 57 people were killed overall, according to Yemeni officials, though they claimed a lot more AQAP fighters slain than the US reckoning of 14. Either way, a substantial number of civilians were among the slain.

Awlaki’s 2011 assassination was hugely controversial, both because he was a US citizen killed on the orders of the Obama Administration and because the administration declined to charge him with any crimes beforehand, simply presenting his sermons as proof of terrorism. Awlaki’s 16-year-old son was assassinated, again on Obama’s order, two weeks later.

Officials say this raid had initially been proposed to President Obama but wasn’t approved until after President Trump took office and signed off on the plan. Even with the Pentagon ignoring all the slain children, the narrative isn’t exactly one of a super successful first ground raid into Yemen going off without a hitch.

“Pentagon officials confirmed the death of one US soldier in the fighting. Three other soldiers were wounded during the raid, and a fourth was wounded in the initial evacuation attempt, in which the V-22 Osprey crashed into the ground during a failed landing.

A US military raid in Yemen January 29 resulted in the deaths of one US commando, more than a dozen militants and perhaps dozens of civilians, among them women and children.

Many Civilians Among the Dead After US Raid in Yemen
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701291050137458-many-civilians-dead-yemen-raid/

The death of the US soldier marks the first combat death of the administration of US President Donald Trump, and its first operation against al-Qaeda in Yemen, Reuters reports.

US Central Command reports that one of its soldiers died, three were injured in a firefight and 14 al-Qaeda militants, the targets of the southern Yemen raid, were killed. One other solider was injured when his aircraft had a "hard landing" and was subsequently intentionally destroyed.

Yemeni security and tribal officials identified three senior Al Qaeda leaders slain in the surprise early morning raid, Military.com reports: Abdulraouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab and Seif al-Nims.

An Al Qaeda member, speaking to AP, called the raid a "massacre," and Reuters cites local medics saying 30 people were killed, among them 10 women and three children.

One of the children was eight-year old Anwar al-Awlaki, the daughter of preacher Anwar al-Awlaki, believed the US to be a high-level al-Qaeda recruiter and killed in a US drone strike in 2011.

"She was hit with a bullet in her neck and suffered for two hours. Why kill children? This is the new administration — it's very sad, a big crime," her grandfather, Nasser al-Awlaki, told Reuters.

Local residents say the raid began with a drone strike on al-Dhabhab's house, followed by Apache helicopters that unloaded paratroopers into the area. Tribal officials said the soldiers were looking for al-Qaeda leader Qassim al-Rimi, and that they took at least two captured individuals with them.

 

[angelburst29]

Yemeni military and intelligence sources disclosed the presence of US and Israeli officers in the Saudi-led troops' Bab al-Mandab operations room in the African country of Eritrea, and said that over 450 Saudi-backed militias have been killed in Yemen's offensives.

Over 450 Saudi-Backed Militias Killed in Bab Al-Mandab Battles; Israeli, US Officers Overseeing Riyadh Operations in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951113001249

"The recent battles of Bab al-Mandab resulted in the death of nearly 450 Saudi-backed militias, including Saudi-hired mercenaries from other Arab and foreign countries," Yemeni Intelligence Official Taha Hesam Abu Taleb told FNA on Wednesday.

He noted that the Bab al-Mandab operation room is located in Eritrea and officers and experts from Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are present there to command the Baba al-Mandab operations.

He pointed to the coming power of Donald Trump as new US president, and said, "Although Trump has reiterated that the US military operations in other world countries would be stopped, only one week after his rise to power Saudi Arabia's attacks were intensified on Southern Yemen; we can see the US government's efforts are aimed at segregating the Southern and Northern parts of Yemen."

In a relevant development on Tuesday, the Saudi-led forces sustained heavy losses in the Yemeni army's missile attacks on their military positions in the Red Sea island.

"The Yemeni army targeted and pounded the Saudi-led military training center with a ballistic missile Zuqar Island in the Red Sea, killing at least 80 Saudi and UAE soldiers and officers," the Arabic-language media outlets quoted an unnamed Yemeni military source as saying on Tuesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow is assisting the Iraqi military's ongoing campaign against the outlawed ISIL by providing it with arms.

Lavrov: Moscow Supports Iraq's Anti-ISIL Battle by Providing Arms
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951113000796

"We are assisting in this struggle, supplying Iraq with Russian weapons and military equipment, strengthening the combat capability of the Iraqi armed forces," Lavrov said at the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum in Abu Dhabi, RIA Novosti reported.

Moreover, it is important to bring the campaign against the ISIL in Mosul, Iraq to an end and defend civilians, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.

"Of course, we believe it is important to bring the operation in Mosul to an end, but, obviously, it is also necessary to take steps to ensure the protection of civilians," Lavrov said at a Russian-Arabic cooperation forum in Abu Dhabi.

Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Shot downed on Wednesday, a reconnaissance drone belonging to ISIL terror group Southwest of the Northern city of Mosul.

Iraq's PMF Downs ISIL Drone Southwest of Mosul
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951113000741

“The heroes of the Popular Mobilization Units have downed a reconnaissance drone belonging to ISIL terror group in the village of Khubairat, Southwest of Mosul”, the Popular Mobilization Forces’ press department has said in a statement, Badr News reported.

“The terror group has resorted to the use of drones in light of the escape of its fighters and the death of thousands of them during the liberation battles,” it added.

It is said that the Iraqi army has downed in coordination with the Popular Mobilization Forces, another drone belonging to ISIL South in the district of Tal Afar.

Kurdish media has reported that an infamous ISIS executioner named Abu Sayyaf has been shot dead in West Mosul in northern Iraq.

Notorious ISIS executioner is shot dead in Mosul
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/notorious-isis-executioner-shot-dead-mosul/

“Abu Sayyaf was one of the scariest executioners in Nineveh… He was a reflection of the brutality of this terrorist group,” Muhammad Yawar, an Iraqi journalist, told ARA News.

“He was known for his huge body and heavy arms. He was one of the notorious faces in the ISIS propaganda videos.”

Local media activist Abdullah al-Mallah, a local media activist, has said that a group of unknown gunmen shot at Sayyaf’s car, killing him and another terrorist who accompanied him.

“He was found dead in the Dawassah district west of Mosul city in Nineveh Governorate on Sunday evening. The Isis-led Hisba Police was unable to identify the perpetrators,” al-Mallah added.

 

[angelburst29]

Comment - Centcom is leading an investigation into civilian casualties that happened in Yemen on December 29, 2016. The article is stating that "Trump approved the mission - yet Trump wasn't swore in "as President" until January 20, 2017? So, how could Trump give approval? It happened on Obama's watch?

The US Central Command (Centcom) launched an investigation into potential civilian casualties during a special forces raid in Yemen in December, the first such operation approved by US President Donald Trump, according to a statement by the Centcom.

Probe Launched Into Civilian Casualties in 1st Foreign Raid Approved by Trump
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201702021050278755-trump-foreign-raid-casualties/

The casualties which "may include children" were likely caused by the covering aerial fire on December 29.

"[Centcom] seeks to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight," the statement obtained by The Guardian newspaper read.

The known possible civilian casualties appear to have been potentially caught up in aerial gunfire that was called in to assist US forces in contact against a determined enemy that included armed women firing from prepared fighting positions and US special operations members receiving fire from all sides, including from houses and other buildings," the statement conclude.

Trump himself in a special address on Sunday said that the special forces had killed 14 al-Qaeda militants and gathered important intelligence.

The US-led coalition resumed airstrikes on Daesh's positions near the Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, Operation Inherent Resolve said in a press release.

US-Led Coalition Resumes Bombing in Iraqi Mosul
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201702021050277073-us-coalition-mosul-airstrikes/

The coalition conducted no airstrikes near Mosul on Tuesday for the first time in several months; Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. John Dorrian said bad weather had prevented the strikes.

"Near Mosul, four strikes engaged two ISIL [Daesh] tactical units and an ISIL staging area; and destroyed three fighting positions, two vehicles, two VBIED factories, a tunnel entrance, a supply cache and a weapons cache; and damaged a supply route," the release stated on Thursday.

The Mosul operation aimed to liberate the city from the Daesh forces started in October 2016. The operation is jointly conducted by the Iraqi military, Iraqi Kurds and the US-led coalition. The eastern part of the city has been recaptured from terrorists.

In Syria, the coalition carried out 16 airstrikes consisting of 19 engagements, including seven strikes near Daesh’s de facto capital of Raqqa. The strikes destroyed an oil inlet manifold, oil tanks and barrels, a VBIED, tunnel and weapons storage facility, and damaged a supply route.

Nine additional airstrikes near Abu Kamal, al-Bab and Deir ez-Zor destroyed Daesh-held buildings and oil infrastructure, including storage tanks and pumps.

The Iraqi government has asked the US-led coalition to stand by its side as the operation to liberate western Mosul from the terrorist group continues, Operation Inherent Resolve land component commander Gen. Joseph Martin said in a briefing on Wednesday.

Iraq Asks US-Led Coalition to 'Stand by Their Side' in West Mosul Operation
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701251050009215-iraq-west-mosul-op/

Martin acknowledged that retaking western Mosul from Daesh will be challenging.

"They [Iraqis] have asked us to be by their side as they continue on," Martin stated. "Of course we’re going to be there right beside their side, advising, enabling and assisting them as they conduct that operation."

Two ISIL security commanders fled the terrorist-held regions in the Southern part of Hasaka with a large amount of cash.

ISIL Terrorists Flee Hasaka with Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951114000949

Abu Osama Tunisi and Farouq al-Jazravi, ISIL's senior security officers, fled the town of Merkada in Southern Hasaka with $400,000.

The local sources said that the ISIL's senior security officers have most probably fled to Idlib.

The source said that after the incident, the ISIL started detention of a number of its senior members.

In a relevant development earlier in January, a local source from Merkada town in the Southern part of Hasaka said 15 foreign members of the ISIL terrorist group had fled the region.

"Faced with the unexpected missing of its foreign members, the ISIL also arrested the family members of those who have fled Hasaka," he added.

The ISIL is now on full alert and has stationed its members at the checkpoints of the town and its nearby areas, the source said.

The ISIL is facing the dilemma of losing its members and commanders, specially foreigners, in both Iraq and Syria.

An official source in Iraq's Anbar Province revealed that the ISIL terror group killed a family, while trying to escape from the city of Qa'im, West of the province, local media said.

ISIL Kills Family Trying to Flee from Iraq's Qa'im
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951114001010

“A family of three tried to escape, using their vehicle, from the city of Qa'im, 350 km West of Ramadi, to the areas held by security forces in Anbar,” the source said, Al Sumariya reported.

“The terror group monitored the vehicle, then chased it and killed the whole family,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

The ISIL group captured the city of Qa'im three years ago, and is still besieging thousands of civilians inside the city, as well as using them as human shields.

At least 32 militants including three commanders of the Taliban group were killed in a 3-day fighting in Southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, local officials said.

Taliban Leaders among 32 Killed in Clashes with Afghan Army in Helmand
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13951114000613

Local officials said on Thursday that the Taliban group launched a coordinated attack on Sangin district which was repulsed by the Afghan security forces, Khaama Press reported.

The officials further added at least 40 militants were also wounded during the clashes with the Afghan security forces.

The provincial government media office said in a statement the Afghan forces were receiving close air support in their fight against the Taliban insurgents.

The statement further added that the attack has been fully repulsed and the Afghan forces have resumed their clearance operation.

The Taliban leaders killed during the clashes have been identified as Mullah Bashir, Mullah Jahhid, and Mullah Sher Agha.